News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-07-28
AN OLD KENTUCKY HOUSE
INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF AN
oLD-TIME HOMESTEAD.
Characteristic Features of the House
me Attic and Its Contents
Kitchen and Ice.House

Characteristic Features of the House
inc Attic and Its Contents
hltchen and Ice-House.
me homestead was of square, rough,
hewn blocks of granite, and had been
Dullt before the days of professional ar
cnltects by former Governor of the
State, who was stone-mason in early
NE, and worked honestly at his trade un,
til the people called him into another
sphere OF action. The house was at once
thoroughly comfortable and extremely in
convenient; additions had been made to
the main building at different times, with
no Idea OF general effect From the broad
'front.' porch one entered at once a large,
nigh room, which was parlor, library,
ana slttlng-room all in one; and very at.
tractlve 1t was with cheerful paper and
carpet, comfortable rocking chairs and
SoIas, and big open fireplace with great
orass- knobbed andirons. Opposite the
front door and leading to the back porch
was hall, from which door opened di-
rectly upon some steps leading to what
was called the big upstairs" This
room, which was of necessity entered
head-toremost as one assembled the s.airs,
took in the main body of the house, and
held always three double beds, with am
PIE space for as many more when the
house was crowded Two bedrooms
opened from the parlor below, and from
the back one another fight of stairs as
cended to rooms above, known as the
little upstairs" The characteristic
feature of the building was the entire
lack OF any means of communication be-
tween the two parts of the upper floor
In the large room over the par,or one
might hear plainly the voices of the oc-
cupants of an adjacent room, but to
reach them it was necessary to descend
one stairway, traverse the whole length
of the house, and ascend another flight.
Above the 'little up stairs'' was the at
tic; here hung festoons of okra, red pep
pers, onions, and garden herbs for season
ing; in the corners were bags of nuts
and punches of popcorn, and apples and
peaches were spread on deal boards to
dry; there were bits of old harness, a
ragged side-saddle that was to be re-
covered some day, a shotgun Or two,
and some huntlng-coatS: and in a dark,
shelving recess were some relics of the
day when Uncle Doctor was a medical
student and practicing physician, some
bones which Mr.. Venus would have CLASH
fled as ''human various" These were
source of infinite terror to every child and
negro on the place. and made a visit to
the attic after dusk a perilous expedi-
ton, necessitating ample companionship
and subject to sudden pancs.
From the front bedroom downstairs -
for it was impossible to go anywhere
about the house without PASSING through
somebody's private apartment-three or
four steps led down to large porch, open
only on two sides, and these so trellised
and covered with vines that it was the
most delightful of summer dining rooms.
From this porch opened capacious store
rooms, and just around the corner was
the kitchen, large, disorderly, often
crowded, but clean in the main, and the
source of most toothsome and abundant
fare. At one corner of the porch stood
an iron-bound hogshead, which caught
and stored the rain-water from the
roef. We used to listen in sum-
mer storm to the raindrops on the
shingles, and hear them gutter along
through the tin spout down 20 this old
receptacle; and when the rain was over,
when the fresh, sweet, earthly odor was
ing jewels on every flower and shrub, we
would climb upon the balustrade of the
porch and peer eagerly into the depths
of the old hogshead, looking for the real
diamonds that the negroes said were
sometimes brought down by the rain.
After breakfast there was always group
of negroes about the porch, each one
armed with tin cup or plate, and wait
ing for the daily allowance of molasses,
sugar and coffee to be given out from
the storeroom, hoping also for some
special tid-bit from the remains of the
meal.
Walks made of fiat, irregular stones
led fa1 ~ T It's y71} kitchen door to various
milking was done; to the smoke house,
the duck-pond and poultry-yard, and the
line of orderly cabins known as '.the
quarters" to the garden, with its pic
turesque mingling of fruit and vegeta-
bles and old-fashioned flowers; and to
the cisterns, to whose water the lime
stone rock gave the same tonic quality
that it imparts to the blue grass, making
this the finest grazing country in the
world. Near the garden was the circular
ice-house, q most seductive building, |
whose slantlng roof began about two
feet above the ground, and was delight
fully messy and slippery. There we
would slide by the hour, and many were
the rents-not only in our clothes, but in
our small persons as well-which were
due to its ragged shingles and bent nails.
We knew also the delicious GOODNESS and |
dimness of the interior on hot summer |
day, and enjoyed tossing aside the damp
straw and sawdust, and dragging out the
great crystal blocks, especially if there
was ice-cream in rospect.-Atlantic